Colleges and universities are running out of closet space. With the amount of data predicted to grow 800 percent by 2016, higher education faces a desperate race to develop strategies to store and manage the tidal wave of information. Unfortunately, many IT departments, particularly those in the public sector, have flatlining budgets--and no money to build additional closets. The challenge lies in how to meet those needs efficiently and cost-effectively. While institutions now have a wide array of storage options from which to choose--including cloud-based operators--each solution comes with its own pros and cons. Indeed, many schools may find that no single storage solution meets all their needs. One thing is clear, though: IT departments and their constituents will have to find the money somewhere to tackle the challenge.